Bastards.
'At this rate, I'll have to hand the casino over to the council.'
Hudson.
A man with the talents of a great merchant, he settled down here in Arcana with rough ambitions.
But unlike what people around him saw, he was currently suffering a severe financial crisis.
'You raise taxes under the pretext of a Great Expedition? While still gobbling up the kickbacks as usual!'
Damn Arcana, damn city council!
The council raised entertainment-related taxes, and slapped on back taxes for amounts that hadn't been reported so far.
But Hudson simply couldn't accept it.
Not reporting the taxes had all been for lobbying the council in the first place, so the council had knowingly looked the other way.
And now they suddenly shook him down under the name of "tax evasion," wasn't that utterly shameless? No matter how much Arcana was a place where money bought everything, the council had crossed the line.
No matter how you looked at it, Hudson had become the council's periodic prey. It was no different from hunting the game and then eating the hunting dog afterward.
There was only one way out.
'Screw this, I'll just become a councilman myself!'
Becoming a member of the city council.
Hudson's desire to reach Level 10 was beyond imagination.
"······ What do you mean, 'speak only the truth'? Are you saying I'm not truthful?"
Had a god finally granted Hudson's wish?
A miracle that arrived at a perfect, unbelievable timing.
But hearing the Star Bearer's proposal, Hudson had no choice but to tilt his head in confusion.
"The stars do not listen to one whose words are riddled with lies. If you truly wish to earn the qualification, you must cast off every falsehood you carry."
"I am truthful."
"Lies."
"What, exactly, is a lie? Then is even the fact that my name is Hudson a lie?"
"Lies."
"······."
Even the casino name that was stamped in huge letters was "Hudson," yet the Star Bearer called even that a lie.
Of course, Hudson couldn't refute it.
Because his real name wasn't Hudson.
'Does he know I'm a player? Wait, is he some hunter pretending to be a Star Bearer?'
There were NPCs who specialized in hunting players.
They called players "sinners," and the moment they were discovered, they executed them. Countless players had died at their hands.
Their methods of approach and attempts to sniff players out were endless, so all you could do was stay on guard.
He'd just said he'd do anything a moment ago, but to be honest, he still felt uneasy.
If the man in front of him was a hunter impersonating a Star Bearer, then······.
"Serengeti."
"······ W-wait. Please wait just a moment."
The instant that name popped out, Hudson's face went pale.
Then he quickly scanned the surroundings and pressed a sequence of hidden buttons.
He'd shut off every device that could be wiretapping or monitoring in real time.
As if no one should ever be allowed to see or hear what followed.
Then, with a still-ghostly white face, he asked,
"H-how did you know that name?"
"The only daughter of the Marquis Weiser of the Kingdom Balan, the Pure White Knight Serengeti. You held a secret engagement ceremony with her."
"······?!"
He even knew a secret that nobody else knew.
The engagement had been a secret known only to the two of them.
He'd never told anyone. And there was no way she'd let it slip either.
How could the Star Bearer possibly know a secret that no one in the world should know?
That alone was enough to be earth-shattering, but the Star Bearer's words weren't finished.
"The casino is only the surface reason. What you truly want is to rise proudly to the seat of councilman and propose to the marquis's family, isn't it?"
"······."
"It worked out well. Serengeti lost both legs in the Great Expedition and became a wreck. If you're a councilman of the Golden City Arcana, the marquis family won't be able to refuse. They'd probably welcome you with open arms, wouldn't they?"
"······."
"But then··· what will you do? Hudson, who is neither Level 10 nor a councilman, has no value to the marquis family at all."
Hudson's eyes tangled into a complicated knot.
And the reason I knew all of this was simple.
Because I was the Final Gamer, and at the same time, the strongest character in the game, Wilhelm.
Naturally, no one knew more about the Great Expedition that attacked the Demon Realm than I did.
—Wilhelm, the supreme and most honorable Knight King. If the expedition succeeds, please protect Hudson, that man. And deliver this and my words to him. I'm sorry I went ahead first······ and that I truly loved him.
Serengeti.
She'd been an important talent in the Great Expedition. Called the Pure White Knight, she'd joined the war leading no less than five hundred knights.
And when I was caught in the Demon King's army's trap, she was the brave one who leapt in to take my place. Back then, I thought it was some special event······.
So I fought desperately to save her, but both her legs had already been severed. Because of a powerful curse, it was hard to do anything about it.
Also, right before she lost consciousness, Serengeti entrusted me with a necklace. Inside it, I found a photo of her holding an engagement ceremony with Hudson.
'That couldn't be. It was impossible.'
But as far as I knew, Serengeti had no man she'd promised her future to.
That setting itself didn't exist.
Hudson was just the owner of a single casino in the metropolis of Arcana, so how in the world could he promise a future to the only daughter of a marquis in some far-off foreign land?
They had no point of contact, not even living anywhere near each other.
If that was possible, it would only be possible when Hudson was a player.
'Love between a player and an NPC, huh.'
To Hudson, this place wasn't a game.
It was reality. How could something he yearned for so ardently be "just a game"?
Hudson, dazed, asked in a half-given-up tone,
"What truth··· do you want from me?"
"Everything."
"Everything, you say······?"
Where should he begin?
Hudson would know many stories I needed.
For example, about this world, about players, about the Eight Heroes.
But if I asked only those things directly, his suspicion would just grow.
No matter what, I needed to keep the stance of, "I already know everything about you." That air of mystery was what would make Hudson mistake me for a Star Bearer.
"Start from the beginning. Where you were born, and how you lived."
So, let's hear it.
Hudson's story.
His real life history.
***
Shhk, shhk, shhk.
The sound of a knife moving was loud.
There was plenty of chatter around, yet only the chopping sound kept drilling into my ears.
'······ Is she sulking?'
Listening to Hudson's story made me late to our appointment.
Who would've guessed he'd tell it in that much detail?
But I couldn't exactly tell him to stop halfway through.
Thanks to that, I did learn the names of the bastards who were playing at being the Eight Heroes, erasing Wilhelm, and putting on their little hero show······.
They'd probably be the traitors who'd interfered with me the most. An antagonistic relationship that could never exist under the same sky.
"Does the meat suit your taste?"
"Yes. But isn't this place expensive?"
After a long silence, the conversation finally began.
But the location was the problem.
A Cheongdam-dong steak house.
I'd promised to treat her to a 160,000-won steak per person, and of all times, I was late.
For a moment I wondered if I had to pay for everything, but—
"You got rid of my stalker. Honestly, even this isn't enough."
Kim Hana smiled.
The stalker. He was definitely not right in the head.
"It was something I had to do."
"No. It's something only a truly brave person could do."
Stepping in when someone is being threatened is never easy.
Because that threat might turn on you instead.
To be honest, I surprised myself a bit.
If I hadn't synchronized with Randolph, could I have stepped in?
Probably not. Even if I wanted to, my body wouldn't have followed.
Then Kim Hana leaned forward slightly and said carefully,
"By the way······ isn't that woman at the back table the one who was with you then? She keeps glancing over here."
····· Looks like Kim Hana noticed too.
That the woman at the table behind us was Kim Seo-yeon.
'What a coincidence.'
Kim Seo-yeon was there with the boyfriend she'd briefly hidden from her profile.
A rich businessman. The guy she dumped me for and moved on to.
Sure enough, her current boyfriend looked wealthy at a glance. He was wrapped in luxury brands head-to-toe, and even had a Rolex on his wrist.
Unlike me.
I'd been pretending not to notice, but it seemed Kim Seo-yeon had been paying attention to us little by little too.
"You don't have to worry about it. We're really nothing."
"Mm. Okay."
Kim Hana sensed something odd, but she didn't push further. She knew all too well that getting involved in other people's romantic mess only brings headaches.
"Park Hyun-myung?"
····· If that bastard hadn't come over and talked to me, I would've stopped caring altogether.
"Don't tell me you followed our Seo-yeon all the way here?"
"······?"
What fresh brand of nonsense was this?
"Stop clinging to her, you bastard. Even I'm embarrassed for you."
"O, oppa. Stop."
"Seo-yeon. You're too nice, that's your problem. You have to say things clearly so trash like this gets it. Because you don't say anything, he deludes himself and keeps clinging. Like a stalker. A nobody acting like he matters."
What kind of bullshit are those two spewing right now?